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Powell selected commission chair

Lincoln County Commissioner Jackie Powell, who took over as chairman last year when Eileen Sedillo stepped down because of family demands, was selected by unanimous vote Tuesday to continue handling the gavel.

Powell was reelected from District 5 without opposition to a second term on the board in 2010.

Preston Stone, who took his seat on the board this month, replacing Sedillo as District 1 representative, was selected as vice chairman.

During the Tuesday meeting, commissioners were told by County Manager Nita Taylor that Justin King of King Industries was asked to give a second opinion on repairs to the county public health clinic building on Kansas City Road in Ruidoso.

She reminded them that a few months ago, she passed along an assessment of the building's condition and the $27,000 estimated cost to fix the problems given by officials with Basic IDIQ, a project management firm used by the county.

But officials with that company said they were not engineers and she decided to seek another opinion.

"Some of the things largely followed what Basic IDIQ thought, but there were more extensive suggestions made," she said. "The first three I listed here are to correct the side drainage issues first by taking care of the gravel, road and gutter, all of the stuff that allows the water to run down into the building; installation of double gutters in the parking lot along with storm water inlets to carry water away from the building; improve the parking lot with an oil seal and create positive drainage away from the building on the north side.

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The second priority that can be done quickly is to install a complete gutter and downspout system for all roof areas around the building exiting to the west of the building, eliminating surface ice from forming and creating a hazard. The third suggestion is to use French drains along the east and north sides of the buildings.

"The other priorities need to wait until we have some (rain). It's difficult for him to assess in these dry times what is causing the problem on the north side of the building," Taylor said. King proposed waiting until June on the other items, she said. She didn't have a cost estimate and said Basic IDIQ probably would continue handling the repairs, incorporating King's information.

Commission Mark Doth said when he looked at the building, he could see that the foundation was separated and had cracked all the way into the ground.

Taylor said she would supply copies of the complete study to commissioners for their review. "Mr. King's thought is the building has not really settled more than most buildings do and he thinks the fix is more related to how the water gets to where it's getting. (He advocates) to fix the parking lots and route the water away from the building and when that is done, go back inside and fix the damage inside and outside. But he doesn't think it structurally is in bad condition."

Doth said many other buildings in the same area experienced similar problems, such as Ruidoso Village Hall. "I'm not disagreeing with the assessment, I'm saying there was poor planning in construction, even the convention center has some major settle within the last two years attributed probably to ground water disappearance," he said.

Taylor said the consultants also agree with the nine priority steps to get the water away from the building. King is scheduled to attend the February commission meeting.